the work sampling system - pearson assessments · 2014-02-20 · the work sampling system is an...

The Work Sampling System®

0158943597_wss_p4_dg.indd 1 6/11/13 11:48 AM

The Work Sampling System is an instructional assessment that is used in preschool through third grade. Its purpose is to document and assess children’s skills, knowledge, behavior, and accomplishments across a wide variety of curriculum areas on multiple occasions in order to enhance teaching and learning.

The Work Sampling System consists of three complemen-tary elements:

1) Developmental Guidelines2) Developmental Checklists3) Summary Reports

The Work Sampling System calls for ongoing assessment that is summarized three times per year. By reflecting classroom goals and objectives, it helps teachers moni-tor children’s continuous progress and places children’s work within a broad developmental perspective. Through documenting and evaluating individual performance of classroom-based tasks, Work Sampling strengthens student motivation, assists teachers in instructional decision mak-ing, and serves as an effective means for reporting children’s progress to families, educators, and the community.

0158943597_wss_p4_dg.indd 2 6/11/13 11:48 AM

Preschool-4 Developmental Guidelines5th Edition

Margo L. DichtelmillerJudy R. JablonDorothea B. MarsdenSamuel J. Meisels

The Work Sampling System®

0158943597_wss_p4_dg.indd 3 6/11/13 11:48 AM

PsychCorp is an imprint of Pearson Clinical Assessment.

Pearson Executive Office 5601 Green Valley Drive Bloomington, MN 55437

Copyright © 2013 NCS Pearson, Inc. All rights reserved. Portions of this work were published in previous editions.

These guidelines may be reproduced for personal use and not for resale or distribution.

Pearson, the PSI logo, PsychCorp, The Work Sampling System, The Work Sampling System logo, and Work Sampling are trademarks in the U.S. and/or other countries of Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliate(s). I SPY is a registered trademark of Scholastic Inc. LEGO is a registered trademark of the LEGO Group. Little Things is a registered trademark of KlickTock Pty Ltd. Play-Doh and Tinker Toys are registered trademarks of Hasbro. SMART Board is a registered trademark of SMART Technologies ULC or its affiliates.

Development of The Work Sampling System was supported in part by a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The opinions expressed are solely those of the authors.

Printed in the United States of America.

For orders and inquiries: 800.627.7271 www.PearsonClinical.com

0158943635_wss_p4_dg.indd 4 7/19/13 1:51 PM

v

Preschool-4 Guidelines

Introduction ....................................................... vii

I Personal and Social Development .............1

A Self-Concept ....................................................... 1 B Self-Control ........................................................ 1 C Approaches to Learning ...................................... 2 D Interaction With Others ..................................... 3

II Language and Literacy ..............................5

A Listening ............................................................. 5 B Speaking .............................................................. 6 C Reading ............................................................... 7 D Writing ............................................................... 8

Language and Literacy for English Language Learners ..............................................9

A Listening for English Language Learners ............ 9 B Phonological Awareness for English

Language Learners ............................................. 10 C Speaking for English Language Learners ........... 11

III Mathematical Thinking .............................13

A Processes and Practices ...................................... 13 B Number ............................................................ 14 C Operations and Algebraic Thinking.................. 15 D Measurement .................................................... 15 F Geometry .......................................................... 15

IV Scientific Thinking .....................................17

A Inquiry Skills and Practices .............................. 17 B Physical Science ................................................ 18 C Life Science ....................................................... 19 D Earth Science .................................................... 20

V Social Studies .............................................23

A People, Past and Present ................................... 23 B Human Interdependence .................................. 23 C Citizenship and Government ............................ 24 D People and Where They Live ............................ 25

VI The Arts ......................................................27

A Expression and Representation ......................... 27 B Understanding and Appreciation ...................... 28

0158943597_wss_p4_dg.indd 5 6/11/13 11:49 AM

vi

The Work Sampling System

VII Physical Development, Health, and Safety ..................................................29

A Gross Motor Development ............................... 29 B Fine Motor Development ................................. 29 C Self-Care, Health, and Safety ............................ 30

0158943597_wss_p4_dg.indd 6 6/11/13 11:49 AM

vii


IntroductionThis volume presents the Work Sampling System Developmental Guidelines for Preschool-4 (age 4) in an edition designed for classroom use. For general reference use, the complete text of this edition, along with the Guidelines for five other grade levels, is included in the Work Sampling System Omnibus Guidelines (Preschool through Third Grade).

The Work Sampling System’s Developmental Guidelines are designed to enhance the process of observation and to ensure the reliability and con-sistency of teachers’ observations. The Guidelines incorporate research, expert advice, and state and national standards, including Common Core. All resources used in the formulation of the Guidelines are listed in the Teacher’s Manual.

How to Read the Guidelines

The Guidelines present each specific skill, behavior, or academic accom-plishment in the form of a one-sentence performance indicator. Each indi-cator is followed by a rationale and several specific examples. The rationale provides a context that explains the meaning and importance of the indicator and briefly outlines reasonable, end-of-the-year expectations for children of different ages. The examples show several ways children might demonstrate the skill, knowledge, or accomplishment represented by the indicator. These are intended to give teachers a concrete picture of the many different ways children might show their skill or ability in rela-tion to the indicator. Examples are not attributes or behaviors that need to be checked off as necessary in order to demonstrate proficiency. Since different teachers may interpret the same indicator in different ways, the Guidelines promote consistency of interpretation and evaluation across children, teachers, and schools.

Although the examples provided for each indicator suggest a variety of ways that children show their skills and knowledge, they do not exhaust all the ways children demonstrate what they know and can do. The students in any particular classroom may show their knowledge in other ways, re-flecting their unique backgrounds, interests, and classroom opportunities. We expect that our examples will serve as a catalyst to help teachers think of the range of situations in which children demonstrate specific skills and knowledge, and to understand and evaluate their students’ performance within the context of their classrooms. Other examples that are more con-sistent with an individual teacher’s curriculum approach can be added.

0158943597_wss_p4_dg.indd 7 6/11/13 11:49 AM

viii

In the Guidelines, we have attempted to provide illustrations that are rel-evant to teachers who work with diverse groups of children. Examples that relate specifically to the development of children with special needs are included to suggest how teachers might assess children with disabilities who are included in regular classrooms. Rather than providing examples related to specific cultural or linguistic groups, we have tried to use inclusive or general language to accommodate children from various cultural, linguis-tic, economic, and social backgrounds. However, we have included perfor-mance indicators for English Language Learners to help measure an ELL’s level of English language acquisition. These indicators are located within the Language and Literacy domain.

Developmental Checklist

To facilitate use of these Guidelines in classroom assessment, the Work Sampling System includes a companion Developmental Checklist, which lists the performance indicators and provides space to rate each child’s performance three times during the school year. (A sample copy of the Checklist is bound in the center pages of this volume.)


Introduction continued

0158943597_wss_p4_dg.indd 8 6/11/13 11:49 AM

1


I Personal and Social DevelopmentEmotional and social competence are central to this domain. Teachers learn about children’s sense of responsibility to themselves and others, and how they feel about themselves and view themselves as learners—their emotional development—through ongoing observation, conversations with children, and information from family members. Teachers acquire information about children’s social competence and approaches to learning by interacting with them, observing their interactions with other adults and peers, and reflecting on how they make decisions and solve academic and social problems.

A Self-Concept

1 Demonstrates self-confidence.

Self-awareness and positive self-image emerge through interac-tions with others and through affirmative experiences. Many preschool children come to school with a positive sense of self, certain they will be liked. Others need time to observe and opportunities to learn how to play in a group setting. Confident 4-year-olds will participate in most classroom activities, express emotions, eagerly explore toys and materials, and interact with others in the classroom. They display a positive sense of self by:• showing excitement when the

teacher announces that they will be going on a field trip;

• teaching a word in sign lan-guage to a classmate;

• entering the dramatic play area and choosing a role that fits the play of others;

• sitting at the art table and exchanging ideas and thoughts, even when the discussion is unrelated to the artwork they are making;

• adapting to playground games and becoming part of the action;

• showing a new student how to play a favorite app or game.

2 Shows some self-direction.

Four-year-olds often seem self-directed because they want to do everything on their own. However, they still require encouragement to act indepen-dently in unfamiliar situations or when trying challenging tasks. Four-year-olds can make simple choices among activities but occasionally need support in trying new classroom activi-ties. Examples of self-direction include:• finding scissors, tape, markers,

and cardboard rolls to make “binoculars” for bird watching;

• finding and putting on one’s own jacket, mittens, and hat before going outdoors;

• deciding to build an airport with blocks, forming a plan, and then implementing it with others already working with the blocks;

• choosing one activity out of several and becoming involved with it;

• trying a new activity (e.g., soap painting or a cooking project), and pursuing it for a meaning-ful period of time;

• playing with different children rather than the same friend or friends every day.

B Self-Control

1 Follows simple classroom rules and routines.

Four-year-olds find established routines very comforting. They feel safer and better able to par-ticipate when rules are clear and followed consistently. They can follow simple rules and proce-dures with gentle reminders. They show their acceptance and understanding of rules and rou-tines by:•waiting patiently until some-

one leaves the water table when the rule is “only four children at a time;”

• independently going to the circle area after cleanup;

0158943597_wss_p4_dg.indd 1 6/11/13 11:49 AM


I Personal and Social Development

2

• clearing their place at the snack table by throwing away their napkin and leftovers with a simple reminder;

• turning off the audio player after listening to it;

• removing a finished painting from the easel and knowing where to hang it up to dry;

• putting blocks away in desig-nated places when the teacher announces it is clean-up time.

2 Manages transitions.

Four-year-olds are sometimes upset when routines change or things are done differently. They manage transitions most success-fully when they are told what to expect in advance. Children show they are learning to manage transitions by:• using a routine, such as wav-

ing from the window or blow-ing a kiss goodbye, to manage the transition from home to school;

• pulling the dramatic play card from the class schedule when prompted by the teacher to transition from one activity to another;

•moving from choice time to cleanup with ease and purpose-fulness;

• cleaning up ahead of schedule because a visitor has come to lead a special group time;

• telling a new child or adult the sequences of activities during a typical classroom day;

• asking questions to better understand a change to the daily schedule.

C Approaches to Learning

1 Shows eagerness and curiosity as a learner.

Most 4-year-olds are naturally curious and continually ask questions about everything they encounter. They display growing maturity when they respond to answers to their questions by ask-ing for clarification or additional information, rather than saying, “Why? Why?” Examples include:• showing interest in stories and

events related by other chil-dren;

• being excited and curious about new things in the classroom, such as a collection of fall leaves or shells from the sea shore;

• looking at a picture of a castle and trying to reproduce it with blocks;

• exploring the icons on a tablet screen to see if there is anything new;

• asking how water makes the wheel turn at the water table;

• expressing excitement about a connection between school and home activities (“I read that story at home with my dad!”).

2 Attends to tasks and seeks help when encountering a problem.

Four-year-olds attend to most tasks for short periods of time (10 to 20 minutes). They will persist longer when they have

chosen the activity. Learning to work until tasks are finished or problems are solved is often dif-ficult for this age group. Ways that children show persistence and willingness to accept help in problem solving include:• raising their hands or touching

the teacher’s arm to indicate that they need help;

• trying to start the zippers on their coats repeatedly until they can do the task without help;

• following teacher or peer sug-gestions for solving a problem (e.g., understanding that put-ting another block at the base of the tower would make it more stable);

• refocusing attention on a movie when verbally redirected to do so;

• putting blocks away and asking for help to finish more quickly;

• accepting help from the teacher when putting together a dif-ficult puzzle.

3 Approaches tasks with flexibility and inventiveness.

Four-year-olds enjoy discovering how some materials are meant to be used while exploring alterna-tive uses for other materials. They are beginning to understand that there are many possible ways to accomplish a task and solve problems. Children show flex-ibility and willingness to try new ideas by:• using two short cardboard

tubes as “binoculars” in the dramatic play area;

0158943597_wss_p4_dg.indd 2 6/11/13 11:49 AM

3


• trying to staple pieces of paper together after unsuccessfully trying to tape them together;

• using the camera on a tablet in inventive ways (e.g., taking a picture of a block structure that needs to be torn down at the end of clean-up time);

• trying several different ways to form Play-Doh® into a specific object such as a birthday cake or snowman;

• using prior experience to fig-ure out what to do in pres-ent situations (e.g., asking the teacher for red paint to color the Play-Doh because last week the teacher made the Play-Doh green with green paint);

• experimenting with a brush to find ways to keep paint from dripping.

D Interaction With Others

1 Interacts easily with one or more children.

Knowing how to relate positively to peers and how to make friends is essential to children’s sense of competence. By age 4, preschool-ers are beginning to make the transition to cooperative play. Taking turns, sharing, and con-versing during play are new skills for many 4-year-olds. They are developing special friendships and starting to understand that it is possible to have more than one friend at a time. Examples of interaction skills include:

• playing with whomever is in the dramatic play area rather than only playing there when alone or with a special friend;

•making decisions with another child about who will put out the cups and napkins and how many they will need;

•working cooperatively with another child who is painting on the same side of the easel;

• searching for hidden objects in the context of an app where several children can work together;

• talking (or using alternative communication) with another child to plan ways to build a block structure;

• using rhythm instruments with several children to make a band.

2 Interacts easily with familiar adults.

When teachers build strong rela-tionships with children, they set the stage for children’s openness to learning and academic suc-cess. Four-year-olds are learning how to interact with adults. They engage in conversations and fol-low directions given by familiar adults much more readily than with unfamiliar adults. Some children need explicit instruc-tion about positive ways to say “hello,” respond to adults’ com-ments and questions, or gain an adult’s attention. Children show their skills in this area by:

• responding appropriately when an adult says, “Good morn-ing;”

• answering a teacher’s question about who they played with on the playground;

• asking for attention by raising a hand, touching the teach-er’s arm, or other reasonable actions;

• listening to and talking with adults;

• sharing the latest classroom news with the school secretary or custodian.

3 Participates in the group life of the class.

Children this age are beginning to show appreciation of group experiences and awareness of group expectations. However, they often need to be reminded of rules and routines. It is easier for them if group rules, such as how many children can play at the water table, are discussed with them in advance and if they have a part in establishing expectations. Four-year-olds are just beginning to play simple board and card games with rules. They show a growing ability to participate in the group life of the class by:• readily joining circle times,

participating in clean-up time, and going to snack time when it is ready;

0158943597_wss_p4_dg.indd 3 6/11/13 11:49 AM


I Personal and Social Development

4

•noticing that a friend needs help putting away the blocks and going over to help, even though they had not played in the block area;

• recognizing that a classmate is absent and asking the teacher about it;

• suggesting silly and funny ideas for open-ended songs such as “Aiken Drum” or suggest-ing the animals for choruses of “Old MacDonald Had a Farm;”

• playing simple “Lotto” games or board games, such as “Candy Land.”

4 Identifies some feelings and responds to those of others.

Learning to recognize your own feelings and those of others is an important life skill. At age 4, children can identify some of their own feelings. They are beginning to recognize the emo-tions of others from their actions and facial expressions. Generally, children this age are better able to show caring for real people or book characters than abstract ideas or situations. Examples of understanding and responding to emotion include:• volunteering to sit next to a

new child and help the child learn the procedures for snack time;

• expressing sadness to a friend whose pet has died;

• going over to a friend who has fallen and giving comfort;

• expressing appropriate feel-ings (e.g., joy, sadness, fear) for characters in a story;

• getting help for classmates who cannot get their boots on or cannot find their paintings to take home;

• helping a classmate who has a physical disability.

5 Begins to use simple strategies to resolve conflict.

Four-year-olds need a great deal of adult support and guidance in learning how to settle conflicts (e.g., how to share a limited amount of materials or deciding who will get to go outside first). Their initial responses are physi-cal, such as hitting, grabbing, or pushing. They are beginning to learn alternatives from adults who suggest and model ways to use words and other simple prob-lem-solving formulas. Children show they are gaining awareness of alternatives by:• asking an adult to help when

another child wants the same truck or when other children keep pushing in the line wait-ing for a turn on the slide;

• using words suggested by an adult to express anger, such as, “I don’t like it when you push me;”

• saying “no” when a classmate takes a toy or interrupts a play sequence;

• giving alternatives to friends, such as, “I’m playing with these, you play with those;”

• asking the teacher to use a timer to decide when one child’s turn on the tricycle ends and their own turn begins.

0158943597_wss_p4_dg.indd 4 6/11/13 11:49 AM

5


II Language and LiteracyThe language and literacy skills needed to understand and convey meaning are presented in four components: Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing. Students acquire proficiency in this domain through experience with language, print, and informational text and literature in a variety of contexts. Over time, students learn to con-struct meaning, make connections to their own lives, and gradually begin to analyze and interpret what they hear, observe, and read. They begin to communicate effectively orally and in writing for different audiences and varying purposes.

Language and Literacy for English Language Learners (ELLs) consists of three functional areas: Listening, Phonological Awareness, and Speaking. Depending on the grade level, these areas contain performance indicators such as Gains Meaning by Listening, Follows Directions, Develops Awareness of the Sounds of English, Speaks in Social Situations, and Communicates for a Variety of Purposes, Using Expanded Vocabulary. As with all other performance indicators, there are three ratings, although grade-level expectations of mastery for ELLs are not given since children can come to school at different ages with varying levels of English language acquisition.

A Listening

1 Gains meaning by listening.

Four-year-olds gain knowledge about their world by listening to adults and children. They can listen not only when they are spoken to one-on-one by adults and peers, but also in adult-led small groups. They ask ques-tions about information they do not understand and talk about the connections between events in a story and their own lives. Listening with understanding is enhanced as children participate in singing and chanting activities. Examples include: • conversing with another person

and continuing the discussion about pets from the morning group time;

• answering the question “What comes next?” in a digital story before moving to the next screen;

• listening to recorded stories and showing understanding through body language or pointing to appropriate pic-tures;

• asking questions to further understand (e.g., “Where did the snow go when it melted?” or “Why did the snow melt?”);

• connecting a story or poem about snow to the big snowfall at their grandmother’s house;

• recalling an earlier part of a story read aloud in order to make sense of a later part.

2 Follows two- or three-step directions.

Four-year-olds are beginning to follow simple two- and three-step directions with relative ease

and even respond well to group instructions, especially if they are part of a classroom routine. They can follow a three-step direction that is new and not part of a classroom routine, however; adults need to emphasize the unfamiliarity of the directions and may need to repeat them. Examples include: • responding to familiar routines

and instructions given to the class (e.g., “Go get your coats and when you are dressed, sit down on the rug”);

• repeating an instruction to a friend;

• following directions on a CD to perform various movements;

• following a sequence of direc-tions that begin with some-thing familiar and include a new action;

0158943597_wss_p4_dg.indd 5 6/11/13 11:49 AM


II Language and Literacy

6

• remembering simple, multi-step instructions about getting ready for outdoor time (e.g., “Clean up the table, put your materials on the shelf, and line up at the door.”).

B Speaking

1 Speaks clearly enough to be understood without contextual clues.

Four-year-olds speak with suf-ficient clarity so that it is easy to understand what they are saying without the help of additional information or gestures. They can ask and answer questions in order to seek help, get informa-tion, or clarify something that is not understood. Four-year-olds usually use correct syntax but sometimes overgeneralize grammatical rules. They begin to use longer and more com-plex sentences when speaking or answering a question. At the same time, they are beginning to converse about objects and events that are not physically present, are somewhat abstract, or that they remember from the past. Examples include: • speaking clearly enough so that

a classroom visitor knows what they are saying;

• accurately delivering a message from home to the teacher;

• communicating in a way that other children understand what is being said without con-stantly asking, “What did you say;”

• using sign language to indicate who they want to sit next to on a trip to the apple orchard;

• using some prepositions cor-rectly (e.g., “I put the dolly in her bed,” or “My lunchbox is on the desk.”);

• announcing to the other chil-dren, “I’m going to build a movie theatre in the block area,” and sharing the plans for building.

2 Follows rules for conversation.

Four-year-olds begin to follow the social rules for conversation. They can take turns in conversa-tions and discussions but some-times continue to have difficulty staying on topic, especially with new and unfamiliar information. They need support to wait for their conversational turn. Their contributions can be long and complicated about topics they are interested in and have knowledge about. Examples include: •waiting for their turn to speak

before announcing that they got a new puppy;

• telling a classroom visitor, at great length, about the differ-ent types of trucks in the truck area;

• adding a relevant idea to anoth-er child’s comment;

• telling jokes and giggling even though they do not understand the significance of the word relationships in jokes and puns;

• asking the teacher a question, waiting for the response, and then following up with another question if needed;

• using common social conven-tions (e.g., “please,” “thank you”) with reminders.

3 Uses expanded vocabulary and language for a variety of purposes.

Four-year-olds are expanding their vocabulary daily through verbal interactions with adults and children and through expo-sure to books, trips, songs, and other classroom activities. They demonstrate curiosity, interest, comprehension of new words, and ask questions about unfa-miliar words in a story or poem read aloud. They use language playfully, but also to give direc-tions, provide explanations, and describe what they see. Examples include: • telling a classroom visitor about

the different trucks in the truck area using accurate terminol-ogy;

• drawing a picture of a house to try to show the meaning of a new word (e.g., construction) they learned;

• generating multiple words that are similar in meaning (e.g., angry/furious and big/large/huge);

• using sensory language to describe experiences (e.g., the Play-Doh felt sticky, the sand-paper felt scratchy);

0158943597_wss_p4_dg.indd 6 6/11/13 11:49 AM

7


• distinguishing shades of mean-ing between words (e.g., walk/run or gallop/skip);

• playing with verbal language to make an event larger or more dramatic (e.g., “My dog can run faster than the fastest rocket in the entire universe.”).

C Reading

1 Begins to develop knowledge of letters.

As 4-year-olds are exposed to books and other forms of writ-ing, their interest in letters increases. They understand that speech can be written down and then read, and that the print on a page conveys the story. They have some awareness that reading is done from top to bottom and left to right, They recognize some letters, especially those in their names, and do not confuse letters with numerals or other symbols. Examples include:

• recognizing their name and one of their friends’ names in a list of profiles for a tablet-based game or app;

• guessing a word by recogniz-ing its initial letter (“reads” all words beginning with “s” as “stop”);

• reciting letter names as they sing the alphabet song;

• recognizing and naming some uppercase letters of the alpha-bet and the lowercase letters in their own name;

• recognizing the letters in one’s own name when they appear in different contexts (e.g., see-ing the “M” in Michelle on the label for the markers).

2 Demonstrates phonological awareness.

Phonological awareness refers to the ability to hear and discrim-inate the sounds of language. Phonemic awareness refers to the awareness of the smallest units of sounds within words, and has been identified as a prerequisite for decoding words when read-ing. Four-year-olds can attend to and distinguish these smaller units of sound within words. They can begin to hear and dis-criminate syllables, the beginning sounds of words, and rhyming sounds. Examples include: • listening to the word the teach-

er says and then finding a word to rhyme with it;

• hearing the sound of the first letter in their own names and using this ability to sound out or “read” classmates’ names that begin with the same letter;

• jumping once for each syllable in a word;

• experimenting with words, giving them new beginning sounds;

• saying the first and last sounds they hear in a word;

• saying the sound of a letter when they see it in a new word because they recognize it from a familiar word (e.g., the “s” sound in “stop”).

3 Shows appreciation and understanding of books and reading.

Four-year-olds come to preschool with varying abilities to enjoy and understand books. They learn about authors, illustrators, and how to handle books carefully. Most 4-year-olds understand that books are read for enjoyment and to learn new information. Examples include: • asking the teacher to help them

find a book about earth mov-ers;

• looking at books in an orderly fashion (e.g., turning one page at a time, going from front to back);

• pretending to read by pointing to words with one finger as they recite the text;

• identifying several books on a favorite topic or several books by a favorite author or illustra-tor and asking for one to be read at choice time;

• dictating details of a project to an adult using a comput-er that is displayed on a big screen, slowing down to be sure the adult captures each word, understanding that verbal lan-guage can be captured in print;

• asking whether they are the “author” of the story they dic-tated to the teacher.

4 Recounts some key ideas and details from text.

As 4-year-olds become involved with familiar stories and infor-mational text, their comprehen-

0158943597_wss_p4_dg.indd 7 6/11/13 11:49 AM


II Language and Literacy

8

sion grows. They begin retelling stories in a variety of ways (e.g., looking at the pictures and mak-ing up the text, acting out part of the story in dramatic play, telling the story using a flannel board) and repeating information and asking questions to better under-stand informational text. With teacher guidance, they can begin to guess or make predictions about what will happen next and to connect books to their own experiences. Examples include: • retelling the main events of a

story just read or told by the teacher;

• talking about when their fam-ily car was towed after hearing a story about a tow truck;

• guessing what will happen next by looking at the picture on the following page;

• looking at wordless picture books or nonfiction photo-graphic books and creating sto-ries to fit the illustrations;

• sharing facts learned from the illustrations or photographs in an informational (nonfiction) book (e.g., how a caterpillar turns into a butterfly);

•noticing incorrect or missing words in stories read aloud.

D Writing

1 Represents ideas and stories through pictures, dictation, and play.

Four-year-olds continue to inves-tigate how symbols can stand for or represent other things. Before

they can learn to write, children must first realize that letters and words are symbols that represent spoken words and stories. They know that labels on toy shelves tell where to put the toys; that the print in books tells the teach-er what to read; and that their own drawings can represent their feelings, ideas, and experiences. Examples include: • pretending to be a doctor in

the dramatic play area and “writing” on a patient’s chart;

• building a block structure to represent the fire station in a story and asking the teacher for help writing “Fire Station;”

• using various forms of media to record classroom activities and share them with others;

• representing concepts learned from hearing an informational book read aloud (e.g., after hearing a story about animals, showing how an elephant’s gait differs from a bunny’s hop);

• recognizing that putting their names on a product signifies that it was done by them;

• telling a story on a tablet or smartphone with a speech-to-text feature, seeing their lan-guage turn into print, then asking the teacher to read their story.

2 Uses letter-like shapes, symbols, and letters to convey meaning.

As children observe the teacher making lists and putting names on artwork, they often want to

write for themselves. Position of letters on the paper, actual for-mation of the letters, and cor-rect order are not yet part of 4-year-olds’ repertoires. Most children become interested in writing their names and perhaps a few other significant words. Examples include: • labeling a drawing with sev-

eral randomly placed letter-like shapes;

•writing their own names from memory on their artwork or copying their name from a model (e.g., the teacher writes their name and they copy it);

• spontaneously writing upper- or lowercase letters they know;

• “signing in” to using an app that requires typing in their name;

• copying letters from signs and labels posted around the room, enjoying the power of doing “real writing;”

• typing out significant words (e.g., their name or the names of family and/or pets) writing several letters correctly.

3 Understands purposes for writing.

Although 4-year-olds do not write conventionally, their under-standing of the power of writing is growing. Through repeated exposure to different types of writing and environmental print, they learn that writing can fulfill many different functions (e.g., telling stories, conveying mes-sages in a letter, describing direc-

0158943597_wss_p4_dg.indd 8 6/11/13 11:49 AM

9


tions for a game), and that writ-ing can be read for enjoyment as well as for information. Examples include: • pretending to use a telephone

book in the dramatic play area to find the phone number of a friend, then writing some numerals on a note pad;

• asking the teacher for help cre-ating signs for the dramatic play area, (e.g., “Hospital” or “Stay out”);

•making grocery lists by writ-ing lines across a note pad and taking the lists to the shopping center in the dramatic play area;

• helping to compose notes, invi-tations, greetings, or thank-you letters;

• explaining information about a topic using a combination of dictating and drawing.

Language and Literacy for English Language LearnersA Listening for English

Language Learners

1 Gains meaning by listening.

Not Yet

At the very earliest stage, pre-school and kindergarten children learning English are generally quiet and initially unresponsive to routine classroom activities and conversations (e.g., greet-ings or putting materials away), but may observe other children and copy their behaviors. They may not consistently attend to listening activities. They respond to oral encouragement only with frequent coaxing and modeling. They may or may not respond orally to questions with a prompted answer (e.g., the teach-er says, “What is your name? Say, ‘Maria.’” The student responds, “Maria”).

In Process

Preschool and kindergarten chil-dren in the process of learning English begin to show under-

standing of simple language and express themselves in limited ways. To demonstrate compre-hension, children may select or point to pictures or objects from oral descriptions, (e.g., “Where is the red truck?,” or respond to listening activities by placing objects in the correct place “Put the book on the shelf”). After listening to a story, they may be able to put pictures of the story in the correct order. They begin to respond to yes/no questions and other simple questions with one word answers, but some-times respond to questions in their native language. As their understanding and expressiveness increases, they begin to partici-pate in singing activities.

Proficient

Children who have experience learning in a language-rich envi-ronment demonstrate their understanding of English in a variety of ways. They can under-stand most school conversations

and most grade-level vocabulary, and respond to verbal direc-tions immediately without need-ing additional gestural cues or modeling (e.g., “Carlos, please return the homework papers to everyone”). In large groups, they follow discussions and respond voluntarily to questions. They appreciate stories read to the class and show comprehension of sto-ries by identifying main ideas and supporting details, drawing pictures that illustrate a story, and retelling stories in short sentences.

2 Follows directions.

Not Yet

As young children begin to learn English, they show no under-standing of entirely verbal teach-er directions. They will complete tasks only if a teacher intervenes, models, and encourages them. They remain quiet and make no attempt to respond orally or through actions. They sometimes model the behavior of other chil-dren after observing them.

0158943597_wss_p4_dg.indd 9 6/11/13 11:49 AM


II Language and Literacy for English Language Learners

10

In Process

With more experience in school, English language learners begin to follow directions under certain circumstances. At times, they show a desire to participate by responding immediately to direc-tions; other times they watch others for clarification about what to do. As their confidence increases, they may ask for repeti-tion of directions (e.g., “Teacher, please say again.”) or complete one or two steps of a multistep direction. Taking additional time to understand directions before being expected to respond, hear-ing a story again, and listening to a description for the second time all help English language learners follow directions successfully.

Proficient

English language learners profi-cient at following directions can understand, respond, and restate directions. After being given a set of directions, children can explain the directions to a class-mate, although sometimes they use their native language to do so. They can listen to instructions for making a product and then restate the directions for them-selves and others (e.g., “First, we collect the pieces. Then we put them in order. Then we glue them together.”). At this point, they can easily complete classroom tasks given only verbal directions.

B Phonological Awareness for English Language Learners

1 Develops awareness of the sounds of English.

Not Yet

Initially, children learning English may have difficulty distinguish-ing the sounds of English. They may confuse sounds in English and may substitute one sound for another, frequently one from their native language. For exam-ple, they may substitute /b/ for /p/ and say ‘ben’ instead of ’pen.’ When repeating words that they hear, they commonly omit the final sounds. If children are given a word and asked to choose the picture that matches the word, they may select an incorrect pic-ture or seem confused (e.g., when asked to point to the cat, they may choose ‘cap’). When given choices of words that rhyme, children may guess, or select words that do not rhyme or not respond at all.

In Process

As English language learners begin to hear and recognize the sounds of English, they make progress in many areas. They may enjoy songs and try to sing along, but substitute incorrect words or sounds for unknown lyrics (e.g., may sing “Ole Macdona had a farm. . .”). Most of the time, they can identify rhyming words. They begin to distinguish some sounds such as /t/ and

/d/, but others such as /l/ or /r/ may be more challenging. When given a task involving sounds, they often respond with a non-sense word (e.g., when asked for a word beginning with the /p/sound, they might respond with ‘pob’). When given a word and asked to select the correspond-ing picture, they may select the picture without regard to sound carrying meaning (e.g., given the word ‘giraffes,’ they may choose a picture of one giraffe, ignoring the final ‘s’ sound).

Proficient

At this level, English language learners can recognize and manipulate sounds in a variety of different situations. They can identify the number of syllables in words by clapping them out and select rhyming words from an oral list. They can create new words from a given word by replacing the first sound with a different one (e.g., replace the /b/ in ball with a /t/ to make tall). They can identify the sound three words have in common (e.g., sun, salt, seen), and find things in the environment that begin with the same sound (e.g., cup, coat, cubby).

0158943597_wss_p4_dg.indd 10 6/11/13 11:49 AM

11


C Speaking for English Language Learners

1 Speaks in social situations.

Not Yet

Children new to English initially speak in their native language as well as when conversing with others of the same language back-ground. They can be quiet and unresponsive when the teacher asks them to repeat a new word or inconsistently attempt to say new words.

In Process

As children spend more time in English language environments, their first sentences are often for-mulaic speech, words used fre-quently in the classroom and in social situations such as, “Good morning,” “Hi,” or “How are you?” With more experience, they use known phrases in appropriate situations (e.g., saying “thank you” when given something or “good-bye” when leaving). Children sometimes use a variety of language “chunks,” unanalyzed phrases or sentences (e.g., “Gimme that,” “I go,” or “What’s that?”). At this stage, children may speak to their peers in comprehensible language but not respond to the teacher. When they do respond to questions, they usually use one or two words. They may combine languages, often in one sentence when they substitute a word from their native language into an English phrase or sen-tence (e.g., “I live in una casa.”).

Proficient

Children are considered profi-cient when they greet others, ask for help, respond voluntarily to questions, willingly partici-pate in whole- and small-group discussions, and understand and participate in conversations with classmates. At this level, they can use language to demonstrate comprehension (e.g., they can retell stories in short sentences that may not be grammatically correct, but that demonstrate an accurate understanding of the main events and key details of the story).

0158943597_wss_p4_dg.indd 11 6/11/13 11:49 AM

12


0158943597_wss_p4_dg.indd 12 6/11/13 11:49 AM

13


III Mathematical ThinkingThis domain’s focus is on children’s approaches to mathematical thinking and problem solving. Emphasis is on how students acquire and use strategies to perceive, understand, and solve mathematical problems. Mathematics is about patterns and relationships and about seeking multiple solutions to problems. The content of mathemat-ics (concepts and procedures) is stressed in this domain, but the larger context of understanding and appreciating (knowing and doing) how mathematical processes can be used is also of great importance.

A Processes and Practices

1 Begins to make sense of problems and uses simple strategies to solve them.

Four-year-olds encounter real-life mathematical problems through-out their day. They begin to make sense of problems by acting out situations, using materials, and interacting with peers and adults in everyday experiences. With guidance and support for inquiry, 4-year-olds begin to solve simple mathematical problems in con-crete ways. Examples include:• figuring out how many small

cups it takes to fill the pitcher at the water table;

•wondering aloud how they can make a ball of Play-Doh so that it rolls “like a sphere;”

•matching cookies to children to see if they have enough for everyone to have two;

• figuring out how to share piec-es of candy so each person gets the same amount;

• building towers of rectangular prisms and cylinders so they don’t fall over;

• solving simple joining and sep-arating problems.

2 Reasons quantitatively and begins to use some tools.

With experience and support, 4-year-olds can reason quanti-tatively with numbers from one to five. They can answer ques-tions like, “How many?”, “How many more?”, “How many less?”, “How many total/all together?”, and “How many are missing?” They often use counters to solve quantitative problems and with guidance, can use a five- or ten-frame to compare and add on to “fill the frame” or take away to “clear the board.” Examples include:• saying, “I need three more to

fill it up!” pointing to each of the three empty spaces on the five-frame;

• counting the counters left when given a separating problem, (e.g., “Jon had four apples. He gave two to his friend. How many does he have now”);

• using apps to pop balloons or catch bugs to match a set, asking, “How many more do I need to make 5;”

• asking a peer, “How many am I hiding?” while showing a closed fist filled with two counters;

• identifying if there are more girls or boys by comparing (and matching) two lines of children;

• rearranging five counters on a ten-frame and saying, “It’s still five!”

3 Uses words and representations to describe mathematical ideas.

Four-year-olds express their thinking about mathematical ideas by using materials, draw-ing pictures, and using simple vocabulary. Examples include:• telling a friend to put four nap-

kins on the table;• drawing the characters in a

story and saying, “I put the three brothers in my picture;”

• explaining why some blocks are separated from the pile by say-ing, “Because they are yellow;”

• describing a puzzle and saying, “This is an easy one. It only has four pieces;”

0158943597_wss_p4_dg.indd 13 6/11/13 11:49 AM


III Mathematical Thinking

14

• representing the solution to a separating problem with a pic-ture (e.g., “There were three sleeping kittens in the basket. One kitten woke up and ran away. How many are there in the basket now?”);

• singing a song with fingers that has a “minus 1” pattern (e.g., “Five Little Monkeys Jumping on a Bed”) and modeling it with fingers or other manipu-latives.

4 Begins to recognize patterns and makes simple generalizations.

Four-year-olds recognize sim-ple patterns and extend them. With guidance, they begin to make simple generalizations about numbers and shapes. For example, after extensive experi-ence playing with many different shapes, a 4-year-old might notice that the ones with “three pointy sides” are triangles. Examples include:• generalizing that counting can

be done in any order (e.g., “I always get the same number.”);

• identifying repeating pat-terns in numbers (e.g., notic-ing “There are lots of ones in the numbers 11, 12, 13, 14, 15,…”);

• saying, “The shapes that look like balls don’t stay on the block tower. They keep rolling;”

• recognizing that triangle and square shapes repeat over and over again on the cafeteria wall;

• extending simple repeating counting patterns like 21, 22, 23, 24,… etc;

• using an app to complete a pat-tern (e.g., out of train cars).

B Number

1 Counts with understanding.

Four-year-olds can count five to 10 objects meaningfully in orga-nized arrangements using one-to-one correspondence on a ten-frame (two rows of five), dice, dominoes, and tallies. They can count out or produce objects to five and they can count verbally up to 20 or 30. Most 4-year-olds understand that the last num-ber named in the collection rep-resents the last object as well as the total number of objects. Examples include:• pointing to each object in a

row and assigning the appro-priate number to it;

• filling in the next number as they complete the second row of a ten-frame arranged in two rows of five, saying, “6, 7, 8, etc;”

• counting footsteps, jumps, or repetitions of exercises;

• telling a friend who is first in line, “You’re first;”

• showing the correct number of fingers when asked, “How many on the dominoes;”

• counting and giving the correct number when asked, “How many legs does a spider have?”

2 Shows beginning understanding of number and quantity.

Four-year-olds can explore the meaning of more and less by matching and naming the quan-tity of small sets of one to six objects. With experience, they begin to understand that a set of objects equals the same number regardless of the position, shape, or order of the objects. Four-year-olds can instantly recognize collections up to four briefly shown and say the number with-out counting. This is called subi-tizing. Examples include:• identifying the pips on a die as

four without counting;• comparing a group of six red

cubes and four blue cubes and saying, “Red has more;”

• comparing three counters and five counters by putting them on two matched five-frames and identifying five as more and three as fewer or less;

• ordering quantities and numer-als one to five;

• using fingers to represent the solution to a joining problem (e.g., “Tasha has two red cray-ons. Sherri has two blue cray-ons. How many crayons would they have if they put them together?”);

• using their fingers to touch a screen to make larger or smaller sets to match a target numeral.

0158943597_wss_p4_dg.indd 14 6/11/13 11:49 AM

15


C Operations and Algebraic Thinking

1 Understands and begins to apply addition and subtraction to problems.

Four-year-olds can understand and solve simple joining and sep-arating problems using objects and direct modeling. They can add one or two objects to one, two, or three objects and they can count how many objects they have all together. In a similar way, they can begin with three, four, or five objects, take away one or two objects and then count how many they have left. Examples include:• saying, “I have four beads,”

when they add a friend’s two yellow beads to their own two yellow beads;

• counting four blocks in a tower and putting one block on top and saying, “Now I have five blocks in my building;”

• responding to pattern count-ing questions such as, “What would one more than five be?...One more than six…one more than seven…;”

• responding to “take away one” questions beginning with five counters (e.g., “How many are there now?”) until there is only one counter left;

•modeling 3 + 2 by combining three objects with two objects and saying, “Now I have five!”

D Measurement

1 Orders, compares, and describes objects according to a single attribute.

Grouping or ordering things based on a single attribute that changes systematically (small to large, short to long, soft to loud) is called seriation. Seriation requires children to observe and distinguish slight differences among two or three objects. Four-year-olds begin to directly compare and seriate according to size, length, height, and weight as they explore the properties of things and decide which things are bigger, longer, shorter, or heavier. Examples include:• placing three crayons on the

table, from the shortest to the longest, or the fattest to the thinnest;

• taking leaves brought in from a class walk and arranging them from biggest to smallest;

• touching or moving items on a tablet to sequence them by size, length, or height;

•noticing which children in the class are taller and which are shorter;

• “measuring” with a friend to find out who has the longer string of beads;

• figuring out with a classmate who has the bigger cookie.

2 Participates in measuring activities.

Four-year-olds explore length, height, and weight, although understanding weight is still dif-ficult for them. They have lim-ited awareness of time, although many 4-year-olds recognize that events are sequenced (e.g., first we eat snack, then we have free time, then we go to the gym). Four-year-olds are curious and interested in the measuring tools that adults use and are eager to explore them. Examples include:•measuring the table with unit

blocks and noting that it is four blocks long;

•noting that they can fill the large bowl in the sand table with three small cups of sand;

• trying to balance the scale by putting various objects on each side;

• holding their hands about a foot apart to show how long their Play-Doh snakes are;

•measuring the length of a block road or the height of a block tower;

• using a camera to take pictures to compare the area of two block projects.

F Geometry

1 Shows understanding of and uses several positional words.

Four-year-olds continue to devel-op spatial sense, the awareness of themselves in relation to people and objects around them. They acquire the vocabulary of posi-

0158943597_wss_p4_dg.indd 15 6/11/13 11:49 AM


III Mathematical Thinking

16

tion and begin to understand direction (which way?), distance (how far?), and location (where?). By age 4, children understand a number of positional and direc-tional words (e.g., above, below, under, beside, behind). Examples include:• knowing where to stand if

asked to stand behind a class-mate in the line;

• putting the dollhouse bedroom furniture in the same arrange-ment as the furniture in their apartments;

• using distance words (e.g., near and far);

• verbalizing their positions as they work and play;

• placing felt cutouts of trees, a sandbox, swing, and slide to make a map of the playground;

• putting the ball under the chair when asked to do so.

2 Begins to recognize and describe the attributes of shapes.

Four-year-olds begin to notice similarities and differences in the attributes of different shapes when prompted to observe shapes in the classroom and environment. With encourage-ment, 4-year-olds can recognize different variations of shapes (e.g., equilateral triangles and isosceles triangles are all trian-gles), identify particular shapes in different orientations as being the same shape, and label shapes and discuss their characteristics. Examples include:

• pointing out a triangle and counting its sides;

• labeling shapes by their feel rather than appearance (e.g., identifying shape blocks in a “feely box”);

• locating individual shapes in pictures composed of overlap-ping shapes;

• announcing that a shape on a poster looks like “a triangle with its head cut off;”

• recognizing an isosceles trian-gle as a triangle even when it is shown without a horizontal base;

• finding all the triangles that are exactly the same size.

3 Composes and decomposes shapes.

Four-year-olds begin to put 3-D shapes together and understand that the result will make a new 3-D shape. They can also make a 3-D structure that matches a 2-D picture of a 3-D structure. Four-year-olds can make pictures using 2-D shapes and fill sim-ple shape puzzles using trial and error. Examples include:• identifying a “big box” when

two congruent rectangular prisms are stacked together;

• creating a building that looks like a house using a rectangular and triangular prism;

• completing an outlined clown picture with pattern blocks;

•making a 3-D structure that contains two cylinders and a rectangular prism and matches a photo of a structure with the same blocks;

• creating a picture of an animal using 2-D shapes;

• creating symmetrical patterns with apps with split screen fea-tures.


0158943597_wss_p4_dg.indd 16 6/11/13 11:49 AM

17


IV Scientific ThinkingThe central areas of scientific investigation—inquiry skills and practices; physical, life, and earth sciences—are addressed in this domain. Also emphasized are the processes of scientific investigation because process skills are embedded in and fundamental to all scientific inquiry, instruction, and content. The focus in this domain is on how children actively investigate through observing, recording, describing, questioning, forming explanations, and ultimately drawing conclusions.

A Inquiry Skills and Practices

1 Asks questions and begins to solve problems that arise during explorations.

Four-year-olds verbalize their ideas and questions to an increas-ing extent. Many of their ques-tions (“Where did those bubbles come from?” or “What will hap-pen if I lift up this log?”) can be directly investigated, while others cannot (“Why is the sky blue?” or “Why do leaves drop off trees in the fall?”). When 4-year-olds are immersed in an exploration, they may be quiet, and even appear to ignore teacher interactions. However, their behavior provides clues to the questions and prob-lems they find most intriguing. A girl rolling a ball down a ramp over and over again, continuous-ly readjusting the ramp’s steep-ness, might ask, “How does the steepness of the ramp affect how far the ball rolls?” With teacher guidance, children can be led to answer questions through further observation and questioning, making charts, or otherwise orga-nizing observations. Teachers can also encourage children to

describe investigable questions through modeling (“I’m wonder-ing which ball would go farther on the rug. What are you won-dering?”) Examples include:• taking apart a flashlight to see

what is inside;•wondering where the frost that

appears on windows after cold nights comes from;

• exploring at the water or sand table, letting the sand or water run through their fingers, com-menting on the way it feels, and noting how fast or slow it flows;

• observing ice cubes or snow at room temperature to see what happens;

• listening to sounds from out-side and identifying the sources (e.g., “That’s a truck, that’s an airplane, that’s a dog barking”);

•noticing that a device is run-ning low on batteries and needs to be charged.

2 Uses senses and simple tools to explore solutions to problems.

Four-year-olds tend to approach familiar tasks in new ways. They enjoy figuring things out, such as how to make a block building

stand up or get a rock to float, and finding new solutions to old problems. They are masters of trial and error, and discard strat-egies quickly that don’t work. Mysteries (e.g., tracking unfamil-iar footprints in the snow to their source) excite them, and they are more confident about describing their observations and ideas ver-bally and in representations (e.g., drawing, painting, and making 3-D structures). With teacher support, 4-year-olds come to view their senses as tools for exploration. Examples include:• using different sized spoons to

scoop out a pumpkin and fig-uring out which spoon works best;

• solving the problem of the fall-ing tower of blocks by saying, “Let’s ‘stick’ the tower of blocks together using tape;”

• using tape to make a “spider web” outside (with teacher sup-port) and then seeing how the wind blows things into it;

• trying to sift a variety of mate-rials through a sieve to see what will go through and what will not;

0158943597_wss_p4_dg.indd 17 6/11/13 11:49 AM


IV Scientific Thinking

18

• using a hand lens to look at ridges on an earthworm;

• observing objects through a hand lens and then through a simple microscope.

3 Makes meaning from explorations, and generates ideas and solutions based on their own observations of the natural and human-made worlds.

Four-year-olds readily describe their observations of objects, materials, and organisms. They can compare characteristics and organize things based on color, size, weight, and shape (although these concepts are still emerging). Evidence from their experiences and observations may still result in ideas that adults find amusing (e.g., “shaking leaves cause the wind” or “trees can’t be living because they don’t move”). They are beginning to understand that other people may have experienc-es, observations, and ideas that differ from their own. Examples include:•noticing that there are plants

indoors and out, and com-menting, “plants can grow any-where;”

• sharing their science experi-ences, observations, and ideas in small group conversations;

• reflecting on previous ideas and considering new evidence, say-ing, “When I press the small lever the top moves, I wonder what will happen when I press the big lever;”

•noticing differences collabora-tively, with a group, using apps like LittleThings® or I SPY®, displayed on a large clear screen during group time;

• collecting rocks that have pink flecks for use in a classroom experiment.

4 Communicates experiences, observations, and ideas with others through conversations, representations, and/or behavior.

Four-year-olds love to share and talk about what they are doing, learning, and thinking about. As they begin to learn that other children have different experi-ences than they do, they become increasingly interested in listen-ing to the observations and ideas of their peers. They can partici-pate in conversations about sci-ence for 5 to 10 minutes. They enjoy collaborating with other children in active physical science investigations, and these may include lots of laughter as chil-dren jointly test their ideas and solutions, and observe results. Examples include:• discussing with peers what they

will see on the museum field trip;

• talking about how their observations of a turtle differ from their peers’ with teacher prompting;

• explaining, with teacher sup-port, how the real turtle at the zoo differed from the turtle they read about;

•making 3-D sculptures of plants they observed, carefully comparing the real plant and their sculpture;

• charting their ideas about what shapes will slide and/or roll on a ramp;

• drawing an animal to show what it looks like, even if the drawing does not quite look like the animal.

B Physical Science

1 Explores the properties of objects and materials, and how they change.

Four-year-olds begin to choose objects and materials for play based on their properties. They build complex structures with a variety of blocks; create artwork using paints, glue, and collage materials; investigate sand, water, goop, Play-Doh, and clay; and participate in cooking and freez-ing/melting activities. Examples include:• choosing blocks for build-

ing based on their size, shape, texture, or the material they are made from, and describ-ing them using more sophis-ticated descriptive and math-ematical vocabulary like “big-ger,” “smaller,” “rough,” and “smooth;”

• comparing and classifying objects based on their attri-butes, and/or their uses (e.g., how are a car and a truck the same and different?);

0158943597_wss_p4_dg.indd 18 6/11/13 11:49 AM

19


• beginning to distinguish between natural and human-made objects;

• feeling different objects’ tex-tures to understand their prop-erties, when movement is lim-ited;

• describing from experience an example of how an object or material can change when it is broken (e.g., a glass), mixed (e.g., water and flour to make Play-Doh), heated (e.g., an egg), or frozen (e.g., water);

• using tools such as a magnify-ing glass or a digital camera to enhance exploration.

2 Explores how objects and materials move in different circumstances.

Four-year-olds are increasingly able to move, control, and bal-ance their own bodies in different ways. They benefit from having a wide variety of building materi-als, different types of balls, and water exploration materials (e.g., clear basters, squeeze bottles, fun-nels, and lengths of tubing) to investigate movement. Children use simple engineering skills as they plan and build structures, and systems for moving balls or water. Examples include:• describing a plan for building,

repeating successful building strategies, and/or extending a building experience over sev-eral days;

•moving their bodies in differ-ent ways, when asked to move like a grasshopper, move like the wind during a storm, move like water on a still summer day;

• describing the way objects and materials can move using terms like “back and forth,” “zigzag,” and “round and round;”

• generating ideas about how and why things stand or move the way they do (e.g., “The spikes in the rug stop the ball.”);

• recording or representing information from building or movement explorations like the design of their building or how far a ball traveled.

3 Explores and describes light and sound.

Four-year-olds love to explore light and sound, and are fasci-nated by experiences that allow them to observe familiar things in new or novel ways. When chil-dren investigate light and sound, they are connected to technology and engineering as they design and assemble simple instruments, and make puppets for shadow play. Examples include:• comparing and describing

sound volume and pitch using words (e.g., “louder,” “softer,” “higher,” “lower,” “brighter,” and “darker;”

• identifying sounds that are the same or different;

• generating ideas about the direction a familiar sound is coming from, and whether the source is close or far away;

• investigating shadows outside (e.g., trying to separate from their shadow, or coordinate its movements with a friend’s shadow) or inside using a com-puter projector and solid col-ored wall as a backdrop for experimenting with shadows;

• beginning to construct rela-tionships about how shadows change as a result of their actions (e.g., when the object casting the shadow moves clos-er to the light, the shadow gets bigger);

•making different sounds (e.g., loud, soft, high, low, repeated, whispers) with one hand on their larynx and noting wheth-er or not the vibrations change.

C Life Science

1 Explores the characteristics of living things.

Four-year-olds continue to con-struct their understanding of what kinds of things are living and what are not (e.g., they often think trees are not living). They use tools such as hand lenses and drawing tools to enhance and record their observations of various characteristics of living things. Examples include: • talking about how they use

their five senses to explore and identify the related sense organs;

0158943597_wss_p4_dg.indd 19 6/11/13 11:49 AM


IV Scientific Thinking

20

• studying both sides of leaves collected on a nature walk and attempting to draw what they see;

• observing and describing the characteristics and behavior of an animal or plant (e.g., observing a worm and using terms like “wiggly,” “fat,” and “shaped like an S;” making body movements to demon-strate how it moves; and rolling “worms” out of brown Play-Doh);

• using books and apps to explore one type of animal or insect in depth;

• generating ideas about how a living thing’s characteristics help it (e.g., a bird’s wings help it fly around the tree).

2 Explores the needs of living things.

Over time and after many expe-riences, four-year-olds will con-struct an understanding of needs versus wants and the needs shared by all living things (including plants). They may suggest that animals have the same needs, interests, and wants that they do. These explorations connect to technology and engineering as children create homes for living things in the classroom and make comparisons between human-made and animal-made struc-tures. Examples include:

• investigating a tree or other large plant in the immediate environment, and observing, describing, and/or drawing the animals that live in, on, and around it;

• planning and participating in setting up a terrarium for plants and/or animals using natural objects and materials from their environment;

•making connections between the needs of plants and animals and the environment where they are found (e.g., many birds live in trees where they can make nests in the branches, hide from cats, and eat insects that live in the tree);

•making comparisons between how they get their needs met in their own homes (e.g., eating meals, staying warm and dry, having a bed) and how other animals get their needs met in their homes;

• reminding the teacher that the classroom pet needs to be fed because it is hungry.

D Earth Science

1 Observes the sky and the natural and human-made objects in it.

Four-year-old children are very interested in the sky and the living and nonliving things they observe there, including the sun, stars, clouds, birds, and human-made objects like airplanes, heli-copters, and kites. They benefit from many facilitated opportuni-ties to observe the sky during the

day (and at night, if possible). Examples include: • describing the differences

between the day and night sky; stating the different shapes of the moon when asked;

• counting the number of stars at night;

• describing the shapes of clouds in detail and comparing them to other things (e.g., “That cloud looks like a jelly bean”);

• asking how a kite flies in the sky;

• asking why it is still dark on some winter mornings;

• asking where the sun goes at night;

•noticing the sun feels warm on their skin.

2 Explores rocks, water, soil, and sand.

Four-year-olds observe natural objects and materials in the envi-ronment with increasing interest and focus. They explore rocks, water, soil, and sand by look-ing, touching, lifting, and lis-tening. They can generate ideas about how these materials might be used for making things (e.g., mud pies or houses for small creatures), and can use a variety of digging and collecting tools to enhance their explorations. Examples include:• collecting, observing, describ-

ing, and sorting natural objects and materials according to their physical characteristics (e.g., sorting rocks by color, size, or shape);

0158943597_wss_p4_dg.indd 20 6/11/13 11:49 AM

21


• beginning to investigate wind through weather explorations;

• investigating the natural and human-made environment, including rock walls and local bodies of water (e.g., ponds, streams, and puddles), and raising questions about how they might provide homes for living things;

• building structures using natu-ral materials like soil and water to make mud, or sand and water to make sand structures;

• experimenting with different amounts of sand and water to find the optimal mixture.

3 Observes weather and seasonal changes.

Four-year-olds enjoy going out-doors frequently, although they need guidance about when it is appropriate to be outdoors. They can describe many weather conditions and draw conclusions about the type of clothing they should wear and the kinds of activities available to them. They also observe seasonal changes and their impact on human activities. Examples include:• investigating and describing

the current weather (e.g., how sunny or cloudy it is, whether there is wind, if it is raining or snowing, and whether it is hot or cold);

• participating in recording weather conditions daily and looking for patterns;

• describing and applying their ideas about seasonal activities to their play (e.g., describing the kinds of clothing they wear in the winter versus the sum-mer, and why);

• saying they can’t go outside to play because it’s raining;

• asking if they need sunscreen on a sunny day.

0158943597_wss_p4_dg.indd 21 6/11/13 11:49 AM

22


0158943597_wss_p4_dg.indd 22 6/11/13 11:49 AM

23


V Social StudiesThis domain includes a broad array of theoretical ideas from anthropology, sociology, history, political science, geography, economics, and psychology. In early childhood, these themes are explored through play, personal interactions, literacy activities, projects, data collection and analysis, and report presentation beginning with the study of self, family, and community. In the primary grades, content areas are broadened to include local and state history, economics, political science, and geography. The exploration of social issues and their underlying theoretical constructs permit young children an opportunity to use meaningful content that helps prepare them as life-long learners.

A People, Past and Present

1 Identifies similarities and differences in personal and family characteristics.

Four-year-olds notice similarities and differences among them-selves and others. Initially they focus on physical characteristics and family habits. With teacher guidance, they begin to show awareness that people are mem-bers of different cultural groups and have different habits, tra-ditions, and customs. Examples include: • painting an outline of them-

selves (body tracing) with col-ors of clothing and hair and eyes that match their own;

• looking at each person’s skin and exploring the different col-ors and shades;

•noticing that some people speak differently than others and helping the teacher make a chart showing names of objects in two or three different lan-guages;

•noting, “Tasha’s family is differ-ent because she has two mom-mies and I only have one;”

• talking about grandparents and discussing how they look dif-ferent from children;

• inquiring about the legs of a student who uses a wheelchair.

2 Demonstrates beginning awareness of community, city, and state.

Four-year-olds begin to identify characteristics and symbols of their community, city, and state as they hear stories and have con-versations. They show awareness of the holidays that are celebrated in their communities and recog-nize the symbols associated with them. Examples include: • drawing and writing about

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birth-day in the writing center;

• dressing up for “founders’ day” in dramatic play;

• pointing out the post office as they take a neighborhood walk;

• attempting to add the flag to their painting and talking about the colors;

• saying, “I know that July 4 is when we watch fireworks for our country;”

• recognizing a handicap parking sign in the school parking lot.

B Human Interdependence

1 Begins to understand family needs, roles, and relationships.

Four-year-olds are very interested in learning about family roles and relationships. Through dra-matic play and conversation they actively investigate the jobs fam-ily members perform to meet the family’s needs (e.g., work-ing, preparing dinner, driving the car, taking care of children). When they realize that a class-mate’s family structure differs from theirs, they want to find out more about those differences. Examples include: • role-playing a variety of fam-

ily members in the dramatic play area using words and/or actions;

• talking with the teacher or each other about when their mom-mies or grandpas go to work and what they do there;

0158943597_wss_p4_dg.indd 23 6/11/13 11:49 AM


V Social Studies

24

• bringing in props from family members’ work, such as hard hats, briefcases, or guitars and using them during dramatic play;

• contributing to a class chart that lists each child, their fam-ily members, and the jobs each person does to help the rest of the family (e.g., shopping, cooking, cleaning, reading bed-time stories, washing clothes, taking out the trash).

• playing with books and apps that explore family relation-ships;

• creating an animated drawing that illustrates the members of a family, including pets.

2 Identifies some people’s jobs and what is required to perform them.

Four-year-olds can identify a variety of jobs at home and in the community. They can give simple explanations about what workers do and identify some tools used to perform specific jobs. With experience, their knowledge expands beyond firefighters and police officers to include store-keepers, postal workers, nurses, doctors, garbage collectors, road builders, mechanics, and others. Examples include: • experimenting with a cash

scanning machine, postal scale, or hoses and squeegees;

• acting out a trip to a big box store, choosing new clothes and buying groceries;

• using the flannel board to recall a trip to an orchard, and show-ing how apples are picked and packed;

• looking at apps, sites, and books to identify the various machines used for road con-struction;

• using props to role play a community worker (e.g., a firefighter’s hat, the doctor’s stethoscope).

3 Begins to be aware of how technology affects their life.

Four-year-olds are active explor-ers of various forms of technology in their environment. Children can begin to appreciate that they would not know about events in other places without phones, the Internet, or large screen displays, and could not talk to or visit distant relatives so easily with-out phones, video conferencing, tablets, texting, cars, or planes. Examples include: • recording a story or a video

using a digital camera or a tablet;

• understanding that most devic-es use batteries that need to be charged in order to work;

• describing the nature program about giraffes in Africa that they watched on the Internet or podcast;

• sharing during circle time that, “Grandma video conferenced from Puerto Rico to say happy birthday;”

• role playing with technology props (e.g., old cell phones, computers) in the dramatic play area;

• listening to stories and other narrative-driven interactive media on tablets.

C Citizenship and Government

1 Demonstrates awareness of rules.

Four-year-olds can be very strict about adhering to classroom rules. They like having clear rules and prefer that rules be followed. They can begin to understand, with guidance, why rules are important for cooperative living. Examples include: • helping to make the rules for

choice time (e.g., only two peo-ple at the sand table because there’s not enough room);

• following rules on the play-ground, such as no bumping into people when you are on the tricycle or your “license” will be taken away;

• accepting that they have to wait before painting because the easels are full;

• explaining to a classmate why the hamster cannot be taken out of its cage;

• stating the rule about how we treat our friends.

2 Shows awareness of what it means to be a leader.

Four-year-olds think about lead-ership only in the context of firsthand experience (e.g., the

0158943597_wss_p4_dg.indd 24 6/11/13 11:49 AM

25


teacher’s role, the principal’s role, or director’s role). Four-year-olds may also show some awareness of the leadership qualities that parents or caregivers exhibit. Examples include: • pretending to be the band

director or conductor when playing with musical instru-ments;

• acting out the teacher’s role during dramatic play;

• saying, “I’m the boss of the building we’re making, so I’ll tell you what blocks to use;”

• trying to figure out who is in charge of the firehouse or the police station after a visit;

• talking to the principal or the director about his or her job;

• showing some leadership quali-ties as they pretend to be par-ents or caretakers during dra-matic play.

D People and Where They Live

1 Describes the location of things in the environment.

Understanding the concept of location provides the foundation for geographic thinking. Four-year-olds show they understand location by placing objects in spe-cific positions in the surround-ing environment or comment-ing on how objects are spatially related to one another. (“The yellow house is very far away.”) They can match objects to their

usual geographic locations (e.g., a toaster in the kitchen, a bed in the bedroom, a tree in the park). Examples include: • placing pictures of common

household items in the prop-er rooms of a prepared house floor plan and explaining why they go there;

• using the teacher’s clue that “The markers are below the pencils” to locate the markers on the shelf;

• creating the grocery store in the block area and then add-ing props to show where the cashiers and food scanning machines are located;

• using a flannel board, SMART Board®, or tablet to show the order of stores on a main street;

• creating a simple drawing and saying, “Here’s my map of the playground;”

• following a simple treasure hunt map within the class-room.

2 Shows awareness of the environment.

Interest in the environment is very concrete for 4-year-old chil-dren. They notice objects and features in their environment and how the environment changes. Examples include: •noticing new displays or mate-

rials in the classroom;• sharing information about the

progress of the road repairs they saw on their way to school;

• commenting on a seasonal change and saying, “Now that it’s summer, we don’t have to wear coats;”

• drawing a favorite part of the story they heard and including the river and people fishing;

• pointing out the steps to the library and saying, “Look how high the library is. There are so many steps to climb.”

3 Shows some awareness of ways people affect their environment.

With teacher support, 4-year-olds begin to understand how people affect the environment by relating it to the classroom and to their own yards and neighbor-hoods. Examples include: • discussing reasons for not pick-

ing flowers on the walk they recently took;

• explaining to a classmate why a passageway must be kept uncluttered for classmates with visual or physical impairments;

• pointing to the tissues on the floor and then making a sign to remind classmates to throw them away;

• talking about why it would be hard to play with the blocks if they were all over the class-room, rather than stored in one place;

• taking a before/after photo with a tablet to show the effects of clean-up time.

0158943597_wss_p4_dg.indd 25 6/11/13 11:49 AM

26


0158943597_wss_p4_dg.indd 26 6/11/13 11:49 AM

27


VI The ArtsThis domain focuses on children’s engagement with the arts (dance, dramatics, music, and visual arts), both ac-tively and receptively. Two ideas are emphasized: how children use the arts to express, represent, and integrate their experiences; and how children develop an understanding and appreciation for the arts. Opportunities to use a va-riety of materials, guidance in the use of those materials, and communication with adults and peers about process and product enable children to demonstrate what they know, expand their thinking, and make connections among the arts, culture, history, and other domains.

A Expression and Representation

1 Participates in group music experiences.

Four-year-olds quickly become involved in singing, finger plays, chants, musical instruments, and moving to music. They are usu-ally quite unself-conscious when participating in music activities and can gain a sense of mastery if there are no expected outcomes or performances. Examples of involvement include:• participating in finger plays

and musical games; • listening to music on tapes,

CDs, and other forms of audio recordings during choice time;

• starting and stopping playing their instruments when the piano or recording starts or stops;

• knowing the words of oft-repeated songs, humming or singing them during other parts of the day;

• using rhythm sticks or other instruments in time to a beat;

• using a piano keyboard to experiment with pitch and rhythm.

2 Participates in creative movement, dance, and drama.

Four-year-olds can participate with abandon in dancing and creative movement. Their imagi-nations are overflowing with images and ideas that they can express with movement. They pantomime movement of famil-iar things, act out stories, and reenact events from their own lives in dramatic play. Examples include:• dramatizing a story read aloud

during circle time; • using movement to interpret or

imitate feelings, animals, plants growing, or a rain storm;

• dancing to a variety of different kinds of music, such as jazz, rock, ethnic, classical;

• galloping, twirling, and “fly-ing,” or performing almost any other imaginative movement in response to music;

• acting out the role of a mother in dramatic play;

• creating innovative movements to accompany recorded or group singing.

3 Uses a variety of art materials for tactile experience and exploration.

Four-year-olds are very active, and can sustain attention to art activities for only limited periods of time. They engage in the artis-tic process with great enthusiasm, but show little desire to produce a product. This enables them to explore various media with free-dom. They demonstrate explora-tion by:• trying a variety of materials and

ways of using them (e.g., using a big brush to paint broad strokes, single lines going this way and that, or combining colors);

• experimenting with Play-Doh by rolling and patting it, cut-ting it with cookie cutters, sticking things into it, or some-times making it into an object;

• drawing or otherwise creating backdrops for puppet shows or signs for block structures;

0158943597_wss_p4_dg.indd 27 6/11/13 11:49 AM


VI The Arts

28

• using new implements (e.g., cotton swabs, straws) to paint a picture;

• using stamps or other objects to print with paint or ink;

• “playing back” a digital sketch or drawing at different speeds (e.g., 2x or 4x time).

B Understanding and Appreciation

1 Responds to artistic creations or events.

Many children express their interest in the arts as observ-ers rather than producers. With teacher guidance, children can begin to comment on each oth-er’s work, asking questions about methods used, showing interest in the feelings being expressed, or noticing details. With teacher support, 4-year-olds can attend to and appreciate children’s con-certs, dance performances, and theater productions. Examples include:• listening to music during

choice time, indicating appre-ciation through body language and facial expressions;

•watching classmates as they engage in creative movement activities;

• imitating the voice a classmate used to play Papa Bear;

• exclaiming about the skill a classmate displays in painting, modeling with Play-Doh, or building with LEGO®s;

• closely watching a magician or musician who is performing for the class;

• using a tablet’s camera to cap-ture photos or video of a per-formance.

0158943597_wss_p4_dg.indd 28 6/11/13 11:49 AM

29


VII Physical Development, Health, and SafetyThe emphasis in this domain is on physical development, health, and safety as integral parts of a child’s well being and educational growth. The functional components address gross motor skills, fine motor skills, and personal health, nutrition, and safety. In gross motor, the focus is on a child’s ability to move in ways that demonstrate control, balance, and coordination. Fine motor skills include strength, coordination, and eye–hand skills. These skills are important in building the foundation upon which self-care skills, handwriting, and artistic expression mature. The third component addresses a child’s growing ability to understand his/her personal health, including self-care, nutrition, and physical safety.

A Gross Motor Development

1 Moves with increased balance and control.

Four-year-olds are actively refin-ing their gross motor control. They enjoy practicing skills and challenging themselves to jump farther or run faster than their friends. They can run more smoothly than at younger ages, hop on each foot several times, and climb up and down stairs using a more adult-like form. Four-year-olds show their emerg-ing skills by:•maintaining balance on a 2 x

4 balance beam that is close to the ground;

•moving around the classroom on narrow paths between fur-niture without bumping into things;

• developing mastery over run-ning skills (e.g., quick stops, full circle turns, short 180° turns, speeding up and slowing down);

• going up and down stairs alter-nating feet without holding onto the rail or the wall;

• hopping several times on each foot;

• galloping with a smooth gait and relative ease.

2 Coordinates combined movement patterns to perform simple tasks.

Four-year-olds are able to com-bine movements to accomplish increasingly challenging physical tasks. They can now kick balls, aim and throw bean bags, climb and swing on jungle gyms, and ride tricycles with increasing con-trol. They love to practice these new skills in games, especially with adult companions. Ways they show increasing coordina-tion include:• throwing a ball in the right

direction, aiming at a target with reasonable accuracy;

• catching a ball by moving their arms or bodies to adjust for the direction the ball is traveling;

• kicking a large ball with a two-step start;

• riding a tricycle on a path around the playground;

• using the slide, seesaw, or swings;

• hitting a stationary target with an overhand throw.

B Fine Motor Development

1 Uses emerging strength and control to perform simple tasks.

Four-year-olds continue to develop fine motor skills through their participation in classroom activities. By using many dif-ferent classroom materials (e.g., art materials and tools, manip-ulatives, a workbench), they improve their hand and finger strength and control. Examples of their efforts include:• pulling the caps off markers

and putting them back on firmly;

• using the paper punch to make holes;

• twisting the cap off a glue stick;• cutting off tape with scissors or

using the tape dispenser’s ser-rated edge;

0158943597_wss_p4_dg.indd 29 6/11/13 11:49 AM


VII Physical Development, Health, and Safety

30

• using the mouse to move a cursor on a screen, while coor-dinating up and down mouse clicks to drag and drop objects;

• fastening snaps and zippers on their coats.

2 Uses eye–hand coordination to perform tasks.

Four-year-olds demonstrate their eye–hand coordination skills as they start to construct with blocks, Tinker Toys®, and LEGO blocks; put together puzzles; and experiment at the sand and water tables. Their artwork tends to become more complicated as they use newly mastered skills to create products. Examples of eye–hand coordination include:• zipping coats;• cutting on a line or around a

large picture with scissors;• stringing beads onto yarn;• dressing dolls using snaps and

buttons;• constructing or copying build-

ings and roads with table blocks;

• assembling digital puzzles with smaller parts.

3 Shows beginning control of writing, drawing, and art tools.

Four-year-olds are interested in the process of drawing and writ-ing; however, the finished prod-uct is not as important to them as the process of creation. At this age, children begin to use a more conventional grasp and practice making some letters for their names or for signs. Four-year-

olds show their growing control over writing and drawing tools by:• drawing with markers and then

deciding that the picture is a dog, a monster, or “me;”

• using markers on a whiteboard, writing letters or numbers (or approximations);

• holding a pencil in a pincer grasp;

• using glue sticks to paste a vari-ety of items on a collage;

• trying a variety of ways to make brush strokes at the easel;

• switching easily between differ-ent tools, such as an air brush, marker, paint brush or pencil, using digital creativity apps.

C Self-Care, Health, and Safety

1 Performs some self-care tasks independently.

Four-year-olds love performing self-care tasks and daily routines on their own. Sometimes they need guidance to avoid becom-ing silly and to stay on task. They forget rules easily because they are busy with other thoughts, but they can usually meet expec-tations after verbal reminders. They can begin to learn about their need for food, water, and shelter. They show growing self-care skills by:• using the toilet independently;• brushing their teeth with mini-

mal guidance;

•managing dressing tasks inde-pendently (e.g., putting on coats, pants, and boots);

• taking apple slices from the snack platter and telling a friend that this is a healthy snack;

• pouring juice or milk from a small pitcher without spilling;

•mastering zippers, buttons, and some buckles (tying shoes is not yet expected).

2 Follows basic safety rules with reminders.

Four-year-olds are becoming aware of some safety issues and how to keep themselves safe. They show their beginning understanding of safety rules by:• acting out fire safety procedures

(e.g., stop, drop, and roll);• carrying scissors and pencils

with points down to avoid accidents;

• standing far enough away from swings in use to avoid injury;

• following the teacher’s direc-tions during an emergency event or practice drill;

• knowing to hold an adult’s or partner’s hand when crossing the street;

• playing with apps that provide a context for discussing pedes-trian or bike safety.

0158943597_wss_p4_dg.indd 30 6/11/13 11:49 AM

the work sampling system - pearson assessments · 2014-02-20 · the work sampling system is an...

Documents